5 Tips for Lingerie Shopping This Valentine’s Day

Some say that Valentine’s Day is the sexiest day of the year. Learn how lingerie can make it sexier!

Valentine’s Day is less than a week away, and while flowers, chocolate and champagne dinners are all wonderfully romantic ideas, and I’m a little bit partial to the romance of fine lingerie. But even though I’m a lingerie blogger, I completely understand how intimidating the process of lingerie shopping can be. With dozens of brands in dozens of styles at dozens of price points (not to mention a different fit for each brand!), it can be an incredibly complex and confusing world.

But those are more in-depth conversations for another article. Today, let’s just talk shopping tips for Valentine’s Day. Here are 5 bits of advice for finding the perfect Valentine’s Day set, no matter your bra size or your budget.

1. Think outside the (red) box.

While red and black are popular lingerie colors, especially for Valentine’s Day, many women find them to be a little harsh and unflattering, if not outright clichéd. Fortunately, there are tons of other color options to take advantage of. Jewel tones (think amethyst, emerald, and sapphire) are all great alternatives to the traditional red and black. Prints and patterns (like florals, polka dots, and plaids) are also popular this season. And no matter what color you chose, you can never go wrong with sheer fabrics like lace and mesh.

There’s nothing worse than putting on a piece of lingerie and realizing that it’s pulling, tugging, digging, and binding in all the wrong places. Comfort leads to confidence and, as everyone knows, confidence is crazy sexy. If it’s been a little while since your last bra fitting or if you’re a naturally hard to find size, you may want to forego the more precise fit of a bra and panty set in favor of something a little more forgiving like a babydoll, slip, chemise, robe, or teddy.

3. Buy something you’ll want to wear later.

One time use lingerie is out. After all, we’re still recovering from a recession. Lingerie doesn’t have to be skimpy or scandalous to be sexy. Purchase something you’ll love to pull out of your lingerie drawer a week later, a month later, or six months later. Even better, when you buy with the future in mind, that gives you a great excuse to spend a little bit more on quality pieces.

Why pay full price if you don’t have to? Many lingerie boutiques, both online and brick-and-mortar, send out coupons and sale updates to their newsletter subscribers. figleaves.com, for example, gives you a 20 percent off coupon while barnecessities.com sends you a 10 percent off coupon for joining their mailing list. You could also try retailmenot.com to get the latest sale codes and discount for thousands of stores. And don’t forget popular sample sale sites like ruelala.com, myhabit.com and giltgroupe.com. Finally, I post a lingerie sales roundup every Saturday on thelingerieaddict.com. It includes a range of brands: both mainstream and independent.

5. Remember that it’s not the lingerie that makes you beautiful.

You’re already beautiful. The lingerie just enhances what’s there.

Tell us: Do you have any tips of your own when it comes to lingerie shopping for Valentine’s Day?

Treacle is a 20-something knickers junkie who started thelingerieaddict.com blog because my friends were tired of listening to me talk about my lingerie. She also loves fruit roll-ups, makeup, costume jewelry, and comic books…though not necessarily in that order.

6 thoughts on “5 Tips for Lingerie Shopping This Valentine’s Day”

Read reviews to find out how the lingerie your looking at fits. Some run small, some run large. When you look at lingerie, don’t expect it to look the same on you as on the model unless you are about the models size. If you are in between cup sizes, then choose the smaller size that will fit for lingerie, as support is important. If buying a teddy with a thong bottom…smaller is NOT better. For corsets- get the best you can- these are tight and will not hold up if not constructed properly. You want steel boning and sturdy construction. This is the only lingerie item that quality really does count unless you plan on wearing it only once or twice. Check on return policy before ordering online and if they do not post a fit chart- ask for one before you order. A small of one brand is a medium in another and an extra small in yet another brand- and nothing worse than getting lingerie for a planned evening, only to find it does not fit and you won’t get the correct size back in time.

I like buying emerald and sapphire lingerie. It's appealing to my eyes and it's not the traditional black/red color. Always keep in mind that comfort is still the priority over looks. You wouldn't want to ruin the moment when you always pull it up and you feel uneasy right?